WLAY-FM (100.1

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

, "Shoals Country") is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to serve Littleville, Alabama, United States. The station is owned by Mike Self and

Parker Griffith Rolf Parker Griffith Jr. (born August 6, 1942) is a retired American physician, entrepreneur and politician who served in the Alabama State Senate from 2006 to 2008 and then as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A lifelong member o ...

, through licensee Singing River Media Group, LLC WLAY-FM broadcasts a classic country format to the greater

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

, area. Programming includes the syndicated '' Rick and Bubba Show'' in the morning, mid-days with Kelli Karlson, afternoons with Kevin Whorton and nights with Whitney Allen. The current Program and Music Director for the radio station is Brian Rickman.

History

The

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

issued the original

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

for a new FM station in

Russellville, Alabama Russellville is a city in Franklin County in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,855, up from 9,830 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Franklin County. History After the War of 1812, ...

, to broadcast with 3,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s of

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

at 97.7

on March 10,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. The new station was assigned the call letters WZMX by the FCC on June 6, 1986. In June 1986, Rambo Broadcasting reached an agreement to assign the permit for this station to Mountain Top Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on August 25, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on September 22, 1986. WZMX received its license to cover from the FCC on November 4, 1987. In April 1990, David E. Morrow agreed to transfer control of this station's licensee to James Michael Self. The deal was approved by the FCC on June 25, 1990, and the transaction was consummated on the same day. The station's callsign was changed to WSHK on July 13, 1990. In November 1997, D. Mitchell Self Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to US South Broadcasting Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on January 15, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on February 20, 1998. The new owners had the FCC change the call letters to WKGL on July 27, 1998. In November 1998, US South Broadcasting Company, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to

Cumulus Broadcasting Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership ...

through their Cumulus Licensing Corp. subsidiary. The three-station deal was publicly valued at $6.3 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 31, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on March 1, 1999. In August 2000, Cumulus Broadcasting's subsidiary Cumulus Licensing Corp. reached an agreement to sell this station and four others in the area to

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

through their Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc., subsidiary. This deal was part of a larger exchange of 45 Cumulus-owned stations for 4 Clear Channel-owned stations and an unspecified amount of cash for a total deal value of $52 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 19, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on January 18, 2001. On April 21, 2003, the station's call letters were changed to WMXV and the station adopted a "V103.5" branding. In October 2004, Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to URBan Radio Broadcasting subsidiary Urban Radio Licenses, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 21, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on May 13, 2005. While the sale was pending, Clear Channel applied to the FCC to change WMVX's

community of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

from Russellville to Littleville, Alabama, and the broadcast frequency from 97.7

to 103.5 MHz. (This was part of a multi-station frequency swap by Clear Channel that saw the 97.7 MHz frequency reassigned to WKXM-FM in

Winfield, Alabama Winfield is a city in Marion and Fayette counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 4,845 at the 2020 census, the second largest city in Marion County. History Winfield is a small city situated in northwest Alabama, east of t ...

.) The application proposed a technical change only as no move of the transmitter site was requested or required. The station was granted a construction permit on January 19, 2005. The station received its license to cover this change on January 25, 2007. URBan Radio Broadcasting had the FCC change the station's call letters to WJOR-FM on March 3, 2006, before having the FCC change it again one week later on March 10, 2006, to the current WLAY-FM. WLAY-FM moved its broadcast frequency again effective August 29, 2016, from 103.5 MHz to 100.1 MHz. Effective April 1, 2019, URBan Radio sold WLAY-FM and five sister stations to Singing River Media Group, LLC for $1.275 million.

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References

External links

WLAY official website
* {{Country Radio Stations in Alabama LAY-FM Classic country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1986 1986 establishments in Alabama Colbert County, Alabama